Democrat Rep. Jeff Van Drew Switches Parties After Meeting With President Trump

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Will there be more to follow soon?

Politico has more on the breaking news of Van Drew switching parties over impeachment:

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a moderate Democrat who is strongly opposed to impeaching President Donald Trump, is expected to switch parties and become a Republican, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. 

Van Drew is one of two Democrats who voted against opening the impeachment inquiry into Trump and has remained against the effort, even as the House prepares to vote to impeach the president next week. Van Drew's decision comes after a meeting with Trump on Friday.   

    

Van Drew’s congressional, campaign staff and other members of the New Jersey delegation were informed he was planning to switch parties on Saturday, according to Democratic sources. The question now was when, not if, Van Drew was joining the Republican Party, according to several Democrats with knowledge of the ongoing conversations. 

As of Saturday afternoon, it was still unclear if Van Drew would make the announcement before the House votes on impeachment, which is expected Wednesday. 

“It was supposed to be bipartisan, it was supposed to be incontrovertible. It was supposed to be something that was always on the rarest of circumstances,” Van Drew told reporters about impeachment earlier this week. “Well it’s not bipartisan.” 

Republicans were excitedly touting the news on Saturday, describing it as a huge blow to Democrats' effort to impeach the president, which Trump and other GOP leaders have repeatedly decried as a "partisan witch hunt." The move is also certain to score major points with Trump, whose support could be crucial in a crowded GOP primary. Trump and Van Drew are expected to hold an event together next week, according to sources on Capitol Hill. 

    

But Democrats were already brushing off the party switch, saying Van Drew was making the calculation purely based on politics and voters would see right through his self-interested motivations in November 2020. 

And Democrats are quick to note that Van Drew's departure is unlikely to impact the impeachment vote tally in any way. Democratic leadership had already been expecting a handful of their members to vote against impeachment, including Van Drew, next week. 

Roll Call also said:

New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, whose election to a GOP-held district last fall helped Democrats flip the House, plans to switch parties after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, according to multiple Garden State sources.

Members of his party were already wishing him good riddance.

“This party switch is cynical and desperate, and I am confident that a Democrat who shares the values and priorities of our Democratic Party will hold this seat,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted Saturday night.

Van Drew had already announced he planned to vote against two articles of impeachment against the president on the House floor this week. Van Drew was one of only two Democrats — both members of the more conservative Blue Dog Coalition — who voted against an impeachment resolution in the House in October.

His vote had sparked chatter about a primary against him, but Van Drew had repeatedly said he wasn't concerned. His campaign conducted a poll Dec. 7-10 that showed a majority of likely Democratic voters in the 2nd District in South Jersey preferred “another Democrat” win the nomination, according to a partial polling memo obtained by CQ Roll Call. More than 70 percent of likely Democratic voters said they'd be less likely to vote for Van Drew if he voted against impeachment.

The CEO of TargetSmart, which surveyed 390 likely Democratic voters for Van Drew for the poll,  tweeted Saturday that he'd work to defeat Van Drew in 2020.